Chapter 351 - Ozomene

"Little sis, you're here…"

Suzuki Aki walked the length of the wooden corridor with Chiaki by his side. He looked more relaxed compared to earlier before he went with Perun.  It seemed he'd finally settled whatever was bothering him.

"Yeah. I was going to see the preparations for Yuuka's room," Alinea answered as she looked at her brother quizzically. "Where's Ryuu? I thought he went to see you."

"Yeah, we saw him earlier but we were not able to talk. He suddenly had a phone call with his parents," Aki answered. "He looked like there are some serious things he wants to discuss. Do you have any idea about it?"

Alinea, of course, nodded. "But I'd rather he be the one to explain. I already have an idea but it's better to get all the details from him."

Aki seemed to think about it for a while before nodding. "Should we wait for him somewhere then?" he asked just as Ryuu returned. "Oh, you're back…"

The older Suzuki's voice trailed off as he noted the black expression the Koutaishidenka was wearing.

"What's wrong?"Alinea asked her husband as soon as he reached them.

"Where's Yuuka?" he asked.

"She's in the garden. I thought she needs time alone to sort things out in her head."

Ryuu nodded with this information and signaled for everyone to follow him. They all returned to the receiving room where they sat with Yuuka earlier, but this time only the Suzuki siblings, Chiaki, and Ryuu were there.

"What's going on?" Aki could feel that something urgent was happening. He was not here earlier so he still had no idea about the issue with Yuuka that was connected to his and Alinea's parents.

"Suzuki Daizo," Ryuu mentioned the name softly, but as quickly as the name left his lips, Aki's face had turned cold and forbidding; his body tensed.

Chiaki automatically reached out a hand and covered his left one, while Alinea took the other. Both women were trying to comfort the man in their own way. Among the two, it was Aki who was the most affected by their parents' death. They also knew that Aki never believed that it was an accident and knew that Suzuki Daizo was involved somehow.

"Is this about our parents?" Aki inquired. When Ryuu nodded, he was obviously anxious. "Did you find evidence then?"

If Ryuu mentioned Daizo then it meant that he was correct.  The man really had something to do with their parents' deaths. He had been looking for evidence for years, but his investigation always ended up with nothing. It was as if everything about the accident had been wiped out – which was odd.

Suzuki Daizo, even if he borrowed power from the Makis, still didn't have the capacity to erase all his trails.

"Yes," Ryuu answered, and Aki was instantly alarmed. "But it's not something you're expecting," he added before Aki could say anything, confusing both him and Chiaki.

"It's true that Suzuki Daizo had something to do with Akihiko and Kaoru's deaths – but he did not scheme to kill them."

"What do you mean?" Aki asked. "Are you saying it's really an accident?"

He couldn't believe it. No matter how much he thought about it, the accident itself was suspicious. It was even ridiculous.

"Aki, you already know that your mother is a Gedian," Ryuu reminded him. "Therefore, Suzuki Kaoru was from the Homura House. Do you think a simple accident can actually kill her?"

Alinea squeezed her brother's hand. "Big brother, Daizo has a parasite – just like Koharu."

"WHAT?"

Both Aki and Chiaki were shocked. They knew the issue with Okada Koharu – knew about the elementals and was even able to see Gin's harpies.

"Y-You mean…"

"Suzuki Daizo was initially taken over by a shadow lurker. With his greedy nature, it was not surprising. However…"Ryuu's voice trailed off as he remembered what he and Homura Seiji talked on the phone just earlier. "In her efforts to save Daizo, Kaoru used a seal unique to the descendants of Perun."

"My mother can use seals?" Alinea asked. This was one of the details she didn't know. Most descendants of Perun and Raiden bȧrėly had a divine inheritance. It was a huge surprise if their mother could.

"It's rare, but she's from the Ritz royal line. She's able to use seals similar to what Father used to seal Czernobog, although the strength was totally weaker." Ryuu shifted on the floor, lifting his knee so he could prop his elbow on it. "She tried to seal him twice as the shadow lurker was already almost over the incubation period."

"Twice?"

Ryuu nodded. "The first time failed. But the second one…"

"What happened?" Aki and Alinea waited with held breaths for Ryuu to continue.

"The second one worked, but a disaster happened before it was completed."

Aki and Alinea exchanged looks. "Disaster?"

"According to my parents, someone appeared bringing something more ominous."Ryuu's voice reflected the chill that was in his eyes as they narrowed. "That someone brought Ozomene with her."

"Excuse me?" Aki had no idea what he was talking about, but Alinea did.

"Ozomene? Isn't that the mother of harpies?"

"That's correct," Ryuu answered, and Alinea's eyes widened in horror.

As was stated in the legends, all harpies used to be Czernobog's followers. But after meeting Stribog, they all decided to follow him and became a loyal horde. However, this was not entirely true, for there was still a group of harpies who didn't join the Wind God's side.

Ozomene, the mother of all harpies was the leader of that group. It was also the group of harpies who still took over poor Gedians and made them crazy, making harpy casters cursed children. It was what they originally thought was the case with Gin.

Oh, and Ozomene hated Stribog to the core. After all, to her, the Wind God stole her children.

"Harpies? Like the one Gin has?" Aki asked remembering the sinister-eyed giants that made him and Chiaki faint.

"Yes, but Ozomene is a totally nasty elemental."Alinea frowned at her husband. "Are you saying that Daizo harbors Ozomene in his body?"

When Ryuu nodded, she was no longer surprised. "Right before Kaoru cast her sealing spell, Ozomene pounced on Daizo to devour the ripe shadow lurker within him."

Alinea closed her eyes, imagining the horrifying scene. It was clear to her now. "So that's why they died," she whispered.

"The monster killed them?" Aki asked and Alinea shook her head.

"She died because to seal Ozomene she needed to sacrifice her life force," she answered, making Aki inhale sharply. Chiaki was equally horrified.

"But mom's divine inheritance is not that strong so she was probably losing," she continued. "So dad probably took her hand so she could use his life force too. It's the only way to seal the harpy."

Hearing this, Ryuu nodded. "That's correct. That's what exactly happened."

The Koutaishidenka then told them that it was Akihiko and Kaoru who requested Homura Seiji and Hana to keep everything a secret. The Homura House led by the Master removed all traces of the incident and made it appear that they died in a car accident.

Also...

"Little sis, don't you recall anything? You were with our parents when they died, "Aki reminded her which shocked her. 

"What are you talking about? How come I don't have any memory of it?"

Aki looked at her worriedly. "When they called me about our parents'accident, I immediately went there. You were sleeping at the backseat of the car."

"What do you..."

Alinea scrunched up her face, as indeed, a vague recollection of the event came to her mind, but incomplete. She tried to remember more but she came up empty and with a throbbing headache. 

"You have retrograde amnesia. It was also why I was adamant not to hand you over to Daizo in case you saw something that night implicating him and he'd hurt you." Now, Aki realized his fears were wrong. 

All Aki's and Alinea's questions about their parents' deaths were already answered except for the new one.

"Who is it?"Alinea demanded with a chilling tone. "Who was the one who brought Ozomene here? Was he the one who manipulated my memory?"

She's a demigod. She couldn't just get amnesia because of a mere car accident or a harpy attack. It should have been forcefully removed from her, and that person must be the same as the one who had brought the harpy over. 

"My mother did it," Ryuu answered. "You were too young at that time. Your mother and father begged my parents to erase your memory of that night and make things look like they had a car accident. Your parents wanted you to live like a normal girl for as long as possible."

Aki and Aliea both looked upset. But they could understand their parents. The real one at fault was the outsider who appeared to bring more chaos.

If that person didn't bring the harpy, her parents didn't have to sacrifice their lives to seal it within Daizo. If they needed to exact revenge it would be to that person.

Ryuu reached out his hand to take his wife's in his. Alinea had a nagging feeling that she wouldn't like the answer and she didn't.

"Fanya," Ryuu answered. "It was Fanya who brought Ozomene here…"